Issue 55 / May 2015

32
Bido Lito! May 2015
Reviews
Maybe it’s the strong meds (mine,
not theirs), but Mr and Mrs Sparks seem
extremely, hmmm, ‘sparky’ tonight. Although
it’s apparent that part of the ‘bickering couple
act’ – honed over 20 years of collaboration
– is just that, when, late on in the set, Brett
removes his Telecaster and threatens to walk
off, there is a slight ‘will he, won’t he?’ feel.
In-between, we are treated to the engrossing
spectacle of an intimate performance from
a couple (plus very good albeit uncredited
drummer) whose lyrics (Rennie) find beauty
and meaning in the everyday – frogs, owls,
onion rings, etc. – and take a theme and run
with it. They move from folk-blues melodies
to darker, reverb-laced numbers and back,
Rennie’s acoustic bass and autoharp
anchoring Brett’s wandering riffs.
Songs such as So Much Wine – a “true
story” of an alcohol-fuelled row – demonstrate
how perfectly their vocals (and personalities)
complement each other. A couple of songs
later, Brett has a short rant about downloaders
(“Here you go, motherfuckers – just take it all”)
in reference to their new album, highlighting
many artists’ frustration with this phenomenon.
His interjections are angrier than hers – she is
sometimes placatory, talking him down, and
also funnier – at one stage asking him, “Did you
those present for much of the same and that is
pretty much what they get.
Demob's songs are cleverly constructed,
fragmentary webs thinly disguised by abrasive
guitar tones and a penchant for heavy choruses.
Clearly influenced by 90s grunge and hardcore
punk, their use of dynamics is surprising and
interesting. Young And Numb is dissonantly
anthemic at times and perhaps the most
obviously Nirvana-inspired of the tracks on
display tonight, whilst also bearing some
resemblance to more contemporary influences
such as Ty Segall.
Comparisons aside they are an impressive
and entertaining live act and, despite some
issues with the sound in the venue (meaning
the bass is almost completely lost for two
songs), it has been a memorable performance.
The performance certainly whets the appetite
for something bigger from them in the future.
Whether that be an album or just some more
tracks up online remains to be seen. If this
current crop of songs is anything to go by, we
may be in for a treat.
Alastair Dunn
macabre and magnificent gothic Americana.
Before their set, the somewhat vaudevillian
DANIEL KNOX opens, accompanying himself
on piano, melodica and kazoo, with a number
of songs looking back on what seems a rather
unsettled childhood; they include By The
Venture, David Carmichael and what sounds like
an unsavoury sexual fantasy about a female
Demob Happy (Antonio Franco / antoniofranco.net)
teacher. His introductions seem longer and
more informative than the songs themselves,
which may be one reason why the crowd hold
back from full engagement, earning a “Will you
all shut the fuck up!” admonishment. Perhaps
he needs a good psychoanalyst to help him
work through his issues, rather than doing so in
front of an audience.
have that beard yesterday?”, then turning to the
audience and remarking: “We so rarely look at
each other – I could hardly pick him out of a
line-up”. Actually, if all the men in the room had
been asked to form a line-up, she might truly
have had a problem – I’ve never seen so many
beards in one place.
Weightless Again epitomises Rennie’s lyricwriting
approach: take the everyday (stopping
THE HANDSOME FAMILY
Daniel Knox
Harvest Sun @ Leaf
Now reaching a wider audience thanks to
the success of the excellent Far From Any Road
(theme tune to True Detective), THE HANDSOME
FAMILY hit Leaf tonight with their blend of
The Handsome Family (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
bidolito.co.uk